The Gunwomen (MMSAO3-1)
by SGxElPsyKongroo-0-PWxObjection
Summary: Madoka recommends Homura improve her poor social skills by trying a VRMMORPG called Gun Gale Online. She enters this new virtual world and finds a friend and ally in another player named Sinon, who shows Homura the ropes. However, Homura might have a few things to show Sinon too.
1. Chapter 1

The Gunwomen  
Madoka Magica and Sword Art Online  
Chapter One

I walked through the front door of my apartment after another long day at work. I was exhausted and immediately laid down on the couch. I pulled out my phone and quickly checked my voicemail. I realized I had a new message from Madoka. I played the recording without much thought.

"Hey, Homura-chan. I know you won't get this since your phone is turned off at work, but I wanted to let you know that I'll be stopping by your apartment tonight. I'm not taking no as an answer this time. I should be there at six. See you then."

Madoka hung up and the message ended. I looked at the time on my phone and nearly had a panic attack. It was 5:59 right now. I had to clean up before Madoka got here. I got up from the couch as the clock stroke six. I then heard someone knock on my door. That had to be her. Part of me didn't want to answer the door, my apartment was a mess. What would she think? Madoka was Madoka though, I really wanted to see her anyway. I walked up to the door and took a deep breath as I turned the doorknob. The door opened, revealing Madoka's wonderful smile.

"Hi, Homura-chan. May I come in?"

How could I deny such a cheerful request from this girl? I smiled and moved aside to let her in. Madoka walked in and took a seat at my dining room table. She placed her bag on the table.

"Did you get my voicemail?" Madoka asked me. "Or did I surprise you?"

"I got your voicemail." I told her, happy with were together. "Do you need help with your homework or something?"

"No." Madoka said with a shake of the head. "I wanted to should you something really cool. You said you like guns, right?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"

Madoka reached into her pocket and pulled out an advertisement for a new video game. She unfolded it and handed it to me before explaining what this was.

"This is a VRMMORPG called Gun Gale Online. It's a game where you fight monsters and other people with guns. I've seen some screenshots and I think you would really enjoy it. There's also a way to convert the in-game currency to real life money which might spark your interest."

I looked down at this poster as she spoke. It certainly looked interesting, but then I spotted what hardware this game required.

"That's nice Madoka, but don't you need a VR headset in order to play these games. They're a bit pricey right now. I'm not making that much money."

I was also aware of the Sword Art Online incident that occurred a few years ago, but I wasn't really afraid of that happening again. Besides, I didn't want to bring death into this right now and price was the main issue anyway. Madoka giggled as she replied to my comment.

"I know that, Homura-chan."

Madoka opened her bag and pulled out one of those very VR headsets. She gently placed it on the table and pushed it towards me.

"This an AmuSphere, I managed to borrow it from Hitomi." Madoka told me. "What do you say, Homura-chan? I think you could make a few friends in there."

"Friends?" I scoffed. "I don't need more friends. I have you, Madoka."

"You need friends other than me, Homura-chan." Madoka scolded me. "I know you don't have the time to meet up with our friends from high school, but you should at least try to reach out to other people."

I eventually gave up fighting her and accepted the AmuSphere. I didn't actually have any real intention of playing this game, but I'd do anything to make Madoka happy. Madoka and I finished our conversation and she left after about an hour. I headed to my bedroom to play a bit on the computer, but the AmuSphere made me stop. It was still sitting on the table, calling out to me. I hadn't held a gun in a while since Madoka was safe now. Even so, part of me was itching to give Gun Gale Online a shoot now that Madoka had introduced me to it. Did I really have the time for this though? I had work tomorrow. I sighed in defeat and grabbed the headset. I put it on in front of the bathroom mirror and instantly cringed at what I saw.

"I look so stupid in this. Who designed this thing? What were they thinking?"

I proceeded to calibrate the AmuSphere. It apparently needed to know information like my height and weight in order to work properly. It figured all this out using its sensors and I carefully confirmed everything. I connected to the GGO server and found out about the monthly 3000 yen connection fee, which I paid without much thought. I was then finally prompted to get into a comfortable position before entering the game. It also told me I was supposed to say "link start" once I was ready. I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes. I tried to prepare myself. I had no idea what to expect, I only ever saw screenshots of these games. They were apparently extremely realistic, though I'd be the judge of that. Once I was ready, I opened my eyes and said those two magic words.

"Link start."

******  
(Chapter Two: Out Now!)


	2. Chapter 2

The Gunwomen  
Madoka Magica and Sword Art Online  
Chapter Two

My vision was filled with a brief colourful light show. My language was preselected as Japanese and I was sent into a dark room. I was still in a bit of daze. Where was I? Was I already inside that game? A holographic keyboard appeared in front of me and I was confronted with a signup screen. I needed to select a username and password.

"What would be a good username?"

I didn't really have an established username that I used in forums or other websites. I usually didn't care and just went with the first thought to come into my head. Today was no different.

"AtomiBomura… that sounds threatening enough."

I knew it was a horrible pun, but I really couldn't think of anything else. I typed this name into the keyboard and pressed enter. There was a flash of white and I appeared on the side of a street. Cars were rushing past me. I took a look around and gasped at what I saw. I was definitely in the game now, no doubt about it. This city I was in, it looked just like a movie set. It looked like some sort of dystopian post-apoplectic future. I looked down at the ground and realized I was about three or four inches shorter than I was in real life. Did that mean I looked different too? I had to check. Without thinking, I approached the side of a parked vehicle and looked in the mirror.

"What is this?" I asked myself.

The face that greeted me was completely different than my own. I wasn't angry, more shocked than anything else. This version of "me" had bright blond hair down to my shoulders and matching green eyes. My skin tone was still the same, but I did look like an American to be sure. I really hoped no one mistook me as one, things could get awkward that way. A voice then came up from behind me.

"Hey, are you okay?"

I turned to see a teenage girl with cyan hair. She was looking down at me since I had crouched to look into the car's mirror. She must've been concerned after I made those surprised faces. I stood back up and gave this girl a weak smile.

"I'm fine." I told her. "I'm just a bit disoriented, I only first arrived here a few minutes ago."

The girl shifted to a look of confusion, she eyes widened a bit.

"First arrived…?" Is this your first time in GGO?"

"Yeah." I confirmed. "It's also my first time in a VRMMORPG. I'm a total newbie, feel free to laugh at me."

"No, I won't laugh at you." She told me. "I started off the same way." The girl smiled back at me. "Besides there's mostly boys here, so we girls need to stick together." She turned and looked down the street. "Would you like me to show you around town? While we're at it, we can buy you your first weapon."

I knew I would spend hours trying to figure out what to do, so a guide would be helpful. I gladly accepted the girl's offer.

"Sure. I appreciate the help."

The girl turned back to me and reached out her hand. She introduced herself.

"My name's Sinon. It's nice to meet you… AtomiBomura…"

Sinon slowly read out my username while looking above my head. I was about to question what she was looking at until I noticed there was a nametag hoving above her head. I had a nametag too, didn't I? I had to clear this up.

"Lame, I know," I admitted. "Just call me Homura."

"Okay, Homura. Please follow me."

Sinon led me several blocks over to a weapons store. We approached the door and Sinon suddenly stopped. She turned around again.

"Quick question. How many credits do you have?"

"Credits?" Sinon had lost me. What were these credits?

"Credits are the in-game currency." She explained. "I want to know what our budget is."

"Oh. How do I check that?"

"It should be visible in the main menu."

"Main… menu…?"

I was still lost. Where was this main menu? How do I access it? Sinon could tell that I was having trouble. She grabbed my left hand and pointed my finger in a downwards motion, like I was scrolling a webpage using an imaginary smartphone. That opened the main menu.

"Well, that isn't cryptic at all." I complained.

"It should become second nature as you play the game more." Sinon explained. "Don't think much of it."

Sinon walked behind me to glance at the menu. She then pointed at a panel displayed the number 3000. Was this my credit balance?

"Okay. 3000 credits." Sinon confirmed. "That's only the default starting amount, but it should be enough to get you a pistol and get started."

We entered the store and headed to a wall of handguns on display. Sinon picked one up and placed it in my hands.

"This is a Belgian made FN-57." She told me. "This is a good starting weapon for a beginning player. It has several advantages over similar pistols, including a smaller bullet size. This also leaves you with enough money to buy protective gear and extra magazines. What do you say?"

Sinon was really excited. I was about to answer her question, but something caught my eye. I passed the FN-57 back to Sinon and continued walking down the aisle. I stopped when I found what had jumped out at me. Right in front of me, in a sea of firearms, was a simple pistol labelled as the SIG Sauer P220. I grabbed the display model and held it in my hand. Yes, this was it. This was the weapon I used throughout my long and painful quest to save Madoka. I had used so much, in so many timelines, that grasping it just felt right. I knew what I had to do.

"I'll take this one."

Sinon was really confused. She walked over and explained the weapon I had chosen. She looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Okay. An interesting choice, if not a bit random." She sighed and pulled up an order form for me. "Why did you pick this? I'm curious."

"I…"

I kind of froze up after being asked that question. There's no way I could tell anything about magical girls or my time travel powers. What should I say?

"No need to answer me if you don't want to." Sinon told me, thinking she had crossed the line. "Now let's order your stuff and head to the shooting range."

******  
(Chapter Three: In Progress)


	3. Chapter 3

The Gunwomen  
Madoka Magica and Sword Art Online  
Chapter Three

Sinon led me into a shooting range that looked straight out of a police station. We stopped in front of one of the targets and I pulled out my pistol. I pointed it at the human-shaped cutout and switched off the safety. I focused on the target's centre and let a bullet fly. My aim looked good at first, but I soon watched in horror as it wondered left and missed the target entirely. I saw Sinon shake her head out of the corner of my eye.

"Hey, big shot. Firing a gun isn't that easy" She teased me. "Maybe you should try watching a pro before you try doing it yourself."

Sinon motioned for me to move, but I refused. I knew my aim hadn't gotten this bad. I raised my weapon and pointed it back at the target. A green circle appeared, overlaying the target. It was shrinking and expanding. This was some sort of targeting reticle, wasn't it? Why was it so big?

"Calm down." Sinon commented. "Nothing's at stake here expect your pride."

She was right. I was still flustered by my failure to stick my first shot. I took a few deep breaths and watched my targeting reticle become smaller as a result. I couldn't believe it. Calmness was the answer? I slowly pushed all the stress and worries out of my head and watched the targeting reticle shrink to a tiny five centimetres in diameter. I shot another bullet and it hit the centre of the target perfectly. This made Sinon jump a bit.

"Wow." Sinon exclaimed. "I've never seen a beginner land a bullseye like that on their second shot."

"Ha." I dryly laughed. "I may know nothing about VR, but I know how to use a gun."

I switched on the safety back on and then motioned to put the weapon into my time shield. Sinon gave me a confused glare as I pressed my gun against my wrist, expecting it to disappear. Slightly embarrassed, I slip it into a holster attached to my belt.

"Aren't you going to practice some more?" Sinon asked me. "It'll be a while before you can go out into the field."

"No, I think that will be good for now." I told her with a shake of the head. "I want my next target to be another player."

Sinon seemed conflicted. It was almost like she wanted to say how much I was rushing thing, but she also seemed to understand that I knew what I was doing. Or at least I thought I knew what I was doing. Honestly, this virtual world was still very new to me. I looked up at the clock on my heads up display. It was already 11 PM and I had work the next day. I turned back to Sinon.

"I have to get going." I announced to her. "Perhaps we'll meet again."

"I certainly hope so." She said back. "I'm sure I said this before, but there aren't many girls playing this game."

I did the cryptic finger swipe thing to bring up the system menu and hovered my hand over the logout button. I looked back up at Sinon.

"Bye."

I pressed my index finger down and the virtual world disappeared. I was looking up at my bedroom ceiling. I took off the AmuSphere and sat it on my nightstand. I was about to get ready for bed when my phone went off. I had no idea who would call me at this hour unless it was an emergency. I sighed and picked up.

"Hello, Akemi. This is Naka."

Initially, I froze. Jun Naka was my boss at work. Why was he calling me at such a late time? Was he going to fire me? I've done nothing wrong though.

"Good evening, sir." I greeted him. "Is something wrong."

"I need you to get on the next flight to Tokyo." He told me. "The calendar lady screwed up again. We have an important meeting with a customer tomorrow morning."

Naka then sighed into the phone. I could feel the frustration in his voice.

"We'll compensate you for the plane ticket and hotel, but I need you to get your butt over to the Akihabara as soon as possible. That is all."

Naka then hung up before I could say anything more. I looked up from my phone and sighed before looking back down. I pulled up the website for All Japan Airways and booked a ticket for a flight to Tokyo departing in four hours. I scrambled to pack everything in my suitcase and headed out the door. I was then on my way to Tokyo.

******  
(Chapter Four: In Progress)

******  
Quick Author's Note:

I realize this is a really short chapter. I had to cut it short here because I want to switch the point of view to Sinon and do some stuff with that. Trust me, the next chapter will be much longer.


End file.
